FYI ________________________________ From: consumers-bounces@lists.wits.ac.za<mailto:consumers-bounces@lists.wits.ac.za> [consumers-bounces@lists.wits.ac.za] On Behalf Of Charley Lewis [Charley.Lewis@wits.ac.za] Sent: 07 June 2010 17:51 To: consumers@lists.wits.ac.za<mailto:consumers@lists.wits.ac.za> Subject: Consumers: Ghana: Thousands protest poor mobile phone services (thanks to Russell Southwood) Thousands protest poor mobile phone services http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=182961#<http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=182961> ACCRA, May 27, --Thousands of mobile phone users took to the streets of Accra on Thursday to show their disapproval and displeasure with the poor services by mobile telecommunication companies operating in the country. The Consumer Protection Agency (CPA), together with other consumer right groups, called on all mobile phone users in the country to switch off their mobile phones from 6 a.m. to 12 a.m. local time on Thursday as part of its protest to express their demand for quality services from mobile phone service providers, MTN, Tigo, Kasapa, Vodafone, and Zain in the West African country. Protesters gathered at the famous Kwame Nkrumah circle at the down town area, where they were briefed by their leaders on the routes and regulations for the demonstration. The organizers made sure that all protesters put off their mobile phones as a warning sign to the operators that their services were nothing to write home about before they embarked on the protest march. The demonstrators, mostly students, danced and sang as they passed through the main streets of the capital city with placards, some of which read "we are tired of your poor services", "stop tricky promotions" and "MTN, Tigo, Kasapa, Vodafone and Zain, the value is the same." A heavy presence of armed policemen guaranteed the safety of both the organizers and protestors. The protest ended at the premises of the Ministry of Communications, where the head of the CPA, Nana Prempeh Aduhene, on behalf of the protesters, presented a petition to the deputy communications minister, Dr Nartey Siaw Sapore. Sapore assured the gatherers that the Ghanaian government would look into the petition and take necessary actions. He said the government would ensure that telecom operators in the country did not short-change Ghanaian mobile phone users. Prempeh Aduhene told Xinhua that the response they got from the public during the demonstration was an indication that Ghanaians were indeed fed up with the poor services of the telecom companies. He said the agency would embark on a second demonstration to serve as a reminder if the Ghanaian authorities failed to caution and sanction the operators for their poor services to the general public. Experts in the communications industry in Ghana estimated that the six-hour off-phone protest would cost the telecom companies a total loss of 6 million U.S. dollars in revenue. Some protesters said that they anticipated total transformation and rightness in the operations of the telecom companies. Charley Lewis Senior Lecturer, LINK Centre Degree Convenor, MM(ICTPR) Tel: + 27 11-717-3784 Fax: + 27 86-529-5562 /+ 27 11-717-3910 Mobile: + 27 83-539-5242 Post (personal): Box 81185, Parkhurst, 2120, SOUTH AFRICA Skype: charley.lewis URL: http://link.wits.ac.za Mwalimu House, School of Public & Development Management, University of the Witwatersrand 2 St David's Place, Parktown, 2193, SOUTH AFRICA ==> Master of Management in ICT Policy & Regulation: http://link.wits.ac.za/training/training4.html<UrlBlockedError.aspx> ==> Certificate in Telecomms Policy, Regulation & Management: http://link.wits.ac.za/training/tc1.html ==> African Journal of Information & Communication: http://link.wits.ac.za/journal/journal.html<http://link.wits.ac.za/training/tc1.html> <image001.gif> This communication is intended for the addressee only. It is confidential. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately and destroy the original message. You may not copy or disseminate this communication without the permission of the University. Only authorized signatories are competent to enter into agreements on behalf of the University and recipients are thus advised that the content of this message may not be legally binding on the University and may contain the personal views and opinions of the author, which are not necessarily the views and opinions of The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. All agreements between the University and outsiders are subject to South African Law unless the University agrees in writing to the contrary. <GhanaWeb-20100528-Thousands protest poor mobile service.pdf><ATT00001.c> Eric M.K Osiakwan Executive Secretary AfrISPA LTD T: + 233.21.258800 ext 7031 F: + 233.21.258811 C: + 233.24.4386792